[Closed] 3.5k for an AM/Enduro build

Not the nicest looking bike, but you should take a look at a Last Herb - awesome bike from what I've heard. Extremely versatile, a little heavy, but amazing when it comes to DH, according to Dirt.
Other suggestioons :

Alpine 160
Labyrinth Agile
Nicolai ion 16
Giant Reign

2013 Mega AM Pro

Cotic Rocket for sure

El Guapo? They'll be pretty cheap, and you can sell the new CCDB Air that arrives with it for a good amount, meaning you'll be able to get some very nice kit on it.

Last herb frame is 4.2kg with a RS Monarch and axle. It's pretty heavy.

I've done everything you highlighted on your ride list including Super Tavi and Egypt, on my Nicolai Helius AM. No one outside of Nicolai has yet ridden the Ion 16 but the likelihood is that the suspension will be a little more supple initially and be more progressive through the stoke. Should be an awesome bike.

Also Dipper who runs Gravity Sports in Buckie has a near mint, still in warranty, modern geometry medium Helius AM for sale. It's maybe two years old, £1000 I think with three years warranty left.

ive had a good look at the ion 16 and i love the look of it but nobody has got there hands on it, and is stated as a mini dh, dont know about the up hills.
alpine 160 was another option, but seemed to be further down the list.
as for the nicolai am i cant seem to find many retailers, and the nicolai site confused me =\

Your closest one would be in Bristol which is pretty far I know. The AM is my all time favourite bike. It can do it all.

geetee1972 - what spec are you running on your helius am?

I'd go for the SX for just looking 'right' but would also consider the enduro and rune
Intenses are pretty expensive so might compromise the build and the Mega can be a bit uninspiring unless you get the shock set up right.
Yeti is more of a mile munching, efficient trail bike with back-up bounce.

Santa Cruz Nomad 😀

I was looking at Nomad too but the starting price is the max budget 🙂

Very good bike though

How about a Knolly Chilcotin?

Make Dipper an offer for this...

http://forums.mtbr.com/nicolai/paid-spam-nicolai-am-833705.html

How about the new Turner Burner? http://www.silverfish-uk.com/Brand/9858/Category/9868/Frames-Build-Kits

£3700 will get you an XT and Thomson equipped complete build. I know that's a bit above your budget but it's an awesome frame and a great build so could be worth the stretch?

Mojo?? Can't remember the 160 name- HD? Or Go for the special blend and upgrade the fork, shock and brakes with the rest of the budget? Just remembered the special blend is 1 and 1/8th headtube..
Would love an SB 66 but even the alu frame is pretty steep..

Spank my build is unashamedly over the top. I'm not embarrassed but it is almost an exercise in shame faced 'all the gear no idea'. It does give me a lot of pleasure though (but not in [i]that[/i] way 😯 ).

[img] [/img]

I ended up getting the wheels refunded because I had so many problems with the rear so its now sporting Handbuilt wheels with Enve AM rims.

2nd vote for the Knolly Chilcotin.

mojo HD meets your requirements:-

-6 inch travel
- tapered steerer
- 142 x 12mm rear
- will take a ccdb air

Maybe a a bit on the expensive side though.

El Guapo is a good contender also, especially at only £700 for the frame with a ccdbair. Will enable you to really go to town on the rest of the components with your budget.

or what about a nukeproof mega?

If you are after options then look at the Devinci's at Freeborn. Mine has been perfect over the last 18 months.

YT Wicked 160 Ltd...?

2nd vote for the Knolly Chilcotin.

Yeah, YT Wicked 160...
A mate has one. Amazing bike for the money, I'd swap it for my Mega in a heartbeat.

[img] http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbbLKh55iG6m4C1exUEBzBYK4MfI0INYOU-FLoKR5Hg3zBZ6vn [/img]

[i]looking for a bike that i can ride all day ups and down, will be more focused on the downs as i already have a transition transam bike built up with 160mm bos on the front for the ups.

looking to do a few weeks in the alps in the summer, uplifts/bike parks/ singletrack. and would like to ride the local DH trails on it (gawton,tavi) as well as welsh trail centres.[/i]

Why would you want another 6" travel bike? Just run a couple of builds for your current bike.

Why would you want another 6" travel bike? Just run a couple of builds for your current bike.

Possibly because

ive been given around 3.5k for a new bike through insurance

[img] [/img]

thanks for all the input guys some nice frames mentioned there, thanks also geetee for the photo, a very nice set up there. what is the weight of the bike as it is?

as fork the bikes in question, so far the yt insutries ltd build is looking most favourible, amazing spec for the price. but unsure about the frame, no real reviews around art from its cheap. (and the website keeps crashing on me)

Mojo HD 160 is a very nice frame, but almost seems to be the obvious answer to my problem, i would like to see if there are any more frame jsut as good.

i had a look at the knolly chilcotin frame and its had some raves over in the US, but the frame just looks alittle bit odd for me.

has anybody had any experience on a banshee rune/spfitfire

S
B
6
6

thanks crash test, been given 3.5k really does some up most of this. =]

edward- that is a nice build.. whats the weight of that, how des the tracer handle of the rough stuff, black runs DH courses and that

Spank it weighs 30lbs on the nose with this build.

When the Spitfire was first launched it had issues. I considered one and the distributor actually warned me of it. I also talked to someone testing it for a magazine and they said it wasn't quite there yet. But that was three years ago and things may have changed.

as for now the sb-66 is not an option, i just think it would be such a goos bike for true all mountain/enduro princles,, wouls make and amazing trail bike, but fear that it cant handle the rougher stuff.

geetee- 30lbs is a very nicew weight for a nicolai,

i also spoke to freefloe bikes about banshee bikes, and he anted at me over the phone for a good 10mins about how bad they are and dont touch them, he stated they had a retuen rate of around 65%, which is very high, but im not sure if that was just for the older stuff.

finally being able to get on the yt website, for the pro spec wickid, with the most ideal spec i could think of.. its around 2770 for the full build. which is amazing, considering a full build nomad/sb66 with equal spec is twice that easy.

im still just unsure about the frame

Weight a bit less than my orange 5 which it replaced, but it is an espensive build, xx cassette, XTR cranks etc. It rides amazingly well. It is very fast when the trail points down. Bikeradar said this bike literally tears itself out of your hands, something which I was a bit dubious about at first but I understand what they mean now ive ridden one! It climbs very well, no bob, but it really lets rip on the way back down. I also think it looks the dogs testicals and you dont see many of them about.

mm very nice, i have always liked how they look and bikeradars review on them seems to hit it on the head.

im sorry but ive just seen another bike, its the morning and im very wired on my double espresso .. anyone heard an awful lots on the Canfield 'the One' seen a few nice builds but not sure if the whole swapping shock is ust a gimmic, for an average ride in all aspects.

The new revised spitfire is out/coming out with bearings rather than the troublesome bushings the previous models had. And it looks awesome.

How's your German?

Oh. Just seen that skyline cycles have some great deals on commencals (AM and SX). Check out their Facebook page.

ah so they have resolved the issue in banshee bike,,, INTRADESTING..

also anybody know of the morewood jabula?

Admittedly, I am biased but I'll throw the MDE Carve 6 into the mix. It's a rapid bike, that's for sure. It was faster than my Lapierre Spicy and the Spicy is by no means a slouch.

http://www.sps-distribution.co.uk/product-details/carve-6/32
http://www.mdebikes.com/wordpress/portfolio/carve-6/

loving geetee's nicolai 😀

anyone heard an awful lots on the Canfield 'the One'

Someone else on here asked about a Canfield Can Diggle just recently. I've only ever come across one other person riding a Canfield and that was a 'The One'. It was a Brit I shared a chalet with in Morzine a few years back. He'd got it to replace his DH and trail bike, hoping it would be 'the one' bike he needed for everything. It was lovely, but they come up quite small for their size.

He took a little while adjusting to it. I think he was trying to ride it like a DH bike and it became apparent that it wasn't that but it wasn't too far off. I'm only basing my opinion on what I saw and what he told me as I didn't ride it, but I got the sense that it was right at the cusp of what could be built up as a trail bike.

I was going to say it falls into the same grouping as say the Knolly Chilcotin, Nicolai Ion 18 or what was teh Helius FR and the Last Herb; very capable but very heavy for a trail bike, but actually a bit of research shows that the frame without shock is only 2.8kg, which is silly light.

[url= http://www.sicklines.com/reviews/canfield_one/ ]Sickline full review of Canfield The One[/url]

Of course the weight of any bike will depend on how you build it; ultimately the 30lbs I've got my AM to is because I've gone silly on the build kit and am running it 1x10. The AM is still 3.1kg without shock, which makes it almost as heavy as say an Intense Socom was!

The other bike to consider is either the Liteville 301 or 601. These are also very light for their intended use and are now being brought in by Evolution Imports (Bromely Bike Co.) They are German made, relatively good value, extremely well designed with attention to detail you wouldn't believe (spare mech hanger built into the frame for example!)

You won't fit a CCDB shock on a Commencal AM or SX

I was opening the thread expecting another xc rider thinking they were needing an all mountain bike, then saw you are actually going to to do some proper DH riding, hurrah :wink:.

SB66 is awesome, i love mine. Give back what you put in. What i mean is, if you're pootling around, i aint interested, a bit harsh, makes it good for smoother, rolling terrain where you want to pump and wheelie, get some air time, but slow speed bump tech, it's firm. Open up, on rough stuff, it flies, the suspension opens up and irradiates much bigger bumps than i would expect a 6" bike to. It handles free gnar with impeccable control too, ive hit 20ft doubles and rode gaps on mine without it flinching. I had to install air can spacers
to make the shock more progressive, but a coil would make it even better for big hits and take off some of that initial harshness.

Motivation - (not me)

Meta SX is so sexy too -

Awesome old school track in that video Dean. I'm guessing it's in France but it could be the UK. It's one of those tracks that just gets better and better the faster you ride it, I guess like the SB66!

How about a top of the range Canyon Strive or Nerve AL+?

as much as I'm not a fan of instantly suggesting a YT or Canyon based on cost alone, if I had that kind of money for a new bike I'd seriously consider the top of the range Canyon Strive. Full XX1 and you'll have 300 quid left over to fund your new cassette when it wears out in 6 months time.

Looks nice as well IMO

strive's are awesome, easily the best all round bike i've had to date.

that video really does help the sb-66 case. so far the top of the list still seems to be the banshee rune v2.

Is it fact that the commencal sx wont fit a CCDBA??

i'd say its a very strong possibility due to the rather dubious placement of the meta's shock.

Covert - does everything on the list! Plus it awesome!

I'm gonna have to say the Alpine 160. Probably biased as i own one, but they are amazing when the trail points down and they arent too shabby on the climbs either. It is possible to build it around the 30lb mark also with that budget.

Nukeproof Mega AM 2013 frame.
With either Monarch Plus or for a little bit more money the CCDB coil.
Not sure why someone said the 2013 Mega frames don't take a piggy back shock - both the TR and AM will.

Don't be too hard on Banshee as most manufacturers have problems with V1's of their bikes (Nukeproof Mega comes to mind, loose headsets and snapping chainstays). Freeborn would not recommend them anymore as they had to do loads of warranty replacements on them.

Keith the designer has gone away and redesigned them to run on bearings so I would imagine the new Rune and Spitfire V2 will both be superb bikes. There is a new distributor for the UK so should make things much better.

For the Alps, I would say the Rune V2's geometry (65-65.5-66 degree ha and low b/b)and robustness should make it top of your list for a 160mm bike as it has a Cane Creek DB air as a shock option , if you can get hold of one that is!

As the owner of a Pitch I think I have to put a good word in for the Enduro.

Mine's flipping ACE!

Edward2000 that Tracer2 looks very nice indeed!

DeanFBM, great video you've found there - short but sweet!

ive hit 20ft doubles and rode gaps on mine without it flinching.

I wish I could do that!

I wouldn't be worry about whether a bike is CCDB Air compatible, as due to varying suspension designs some of them won't be suitable for it at all, specifically anything with a progressive curve you will struggle to get full travel from with the CCDBA.

It's designed to work on suspension design the coil doesn't work with.

I like the very current on trend style of AM bike, long TT, low standover, low BB & slack HA with a decent sized fork on it, as it suits the DH rider in me. The new Commencal's fit the bill very well, the only downside being the frame is heavy. SB66 is very similar in numbers too.

Liteville 301. Test rode one today - very very impressed.

Pity I can't afford one. 🙁

The choices are endless, but steel is real!!

specifically anything with a progressive curve you will struggle to get full travel from with the CCDBA.

Doesn't that mean about 99% of all bikes currently on the market?

In fact, the only bikes I've heard of having a regressive ratio is the Orange Five.

I also think that if the mechanical leverage has been designed around an air can, then to compensate for the inherently progressive nature of the air apring, the mechanical leverage should be more progressive, thus fitting a coil to a bike with an air spring in mind would need more HSC to compensate for the linearity of a coil.

Have I got this right or am I way off?

Another vote for the "knolly chilcotin"

hi guys, just as an update, due to some restrictions of what brands im actually allowed through the bike shop handling the insurance claim, i have settled on my first choice of the 2013 Banshee Rune V2 with CCDBA. managed to get one 20% cheaper thatn RRP and delivered 2 months before they are actually available in the UK.. its all about who you know these days =].

thanks for all the input everyone had put in. pics are to follow in the ext couple of weeks, keep your eyes peeled.

SPANK_that

Dont know if its gone but there was a SWorks carbon Enduro frame in the classifieds a few days ag at a silly price

[url] http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-specialized-enduro-s-works-2011-frameset [/url]

or a bit less travel

[url] http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-SWorks-Stumpjumper-FSR-Carbon-Frame-2199-92-0.html [/url]

C.O.V.E.R.T

Geetee - what the weight of your Nicolai build?

Commencal Meta AM? I like mine 🙂

[img] [/img]

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Stories-Episode-1-Duane-Walker-video-2013.html

Frame build would have to be the sb66 but check out the nomad failing that have a look at the bronson

Check the age of the thread fellas...

^ 😆 on a side note - spank how do the bos handle on your transam (i'm looking at getting the samep